Building Flying Machines: The Science of Flying from Earth to Space

Course enrollment will be available for this course once it is scheduled.

Course Description

Have you ever looked at an airplane and wanted to know how it works? Have you ever wanted to know how NASA launches satellites into outer space to reach their final destination thousands of miles away? Would you like to build machines that fly? If you want to investigate flying, aerospace, rocket science, airplanes, satellites, drones and astronauts, then this course is for you.

During two weeks, you will explore the science of flight on Earth and in space through different missions in a creative and collaborative environment. All of our missions are designed to learn by doing, we will challenge scientific concepts through hands-on activities. For example, you will use the concepts of Newton’s laws, center of mass, and stability to build, and launch different models of rockets. Also, you will learn the principles of flying, and aerodynamics by engineering and flying a kite, a rubber band powered plane, and a quadcopter.

Moreover, you will study orbital mechanics and how to design a satellite to move and work in space without falling back to earth. Then, we will engineer and launch a high altitude balloon that reaches over 70,000 feet where we will be able to take pictures of its travel through the earth’s atmosphere.

There are no specific prerequisites, we know that building things may seem challenging at the beginning, but don’t worry, we will provide you with everything you need to successfully complete all the missions. You only need to bring your curiosity, energy, and imagination. Just be ready to learn and have tons of fun!

This course is designed for beginners: students with little or no experience building planes and rockets.